It seems like just about everyone is craving Italian cuisine right about now. Thanks to Stanley Tucci and his excellent Searching For Italy docuseries, we now know what some of the best restaurants in Italy are. For a country that is world-famous for it’s delicacies, it’s hard for a first-time visiter to know where to begin. Hopefully, after watching this video, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect on your next culinary adventure in Italy.
Stanley Tucci is an Italian-American actor and filmmaker who got his start when he made his film debut in 1985s John Huston’s Prizzi’s Honor. He went on to enjoy supporting roles in a variety of films, such as Woody Allen’s 1997 black comedy Deconstructing Harry, Sam Mende’s Academy Award-winning 2002 crime drama Road to Perdition, and Steven Spielberg’s equally delightful 2004 comedy-drama The Terminal.
As a filmmaker, Tucci made his directorial debut with the cult comedy Big Night which hit theaters in 1996. He later played Stanley Kubrick in the TV film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and shared the screen with Meryl Streep in 2006s The Devil Wears Prada and once again in 2009s Julie & Julia.
Tucci went on the gain further critical acclaim for his work on films such as 2010s Burlesque, 2015s Spotlight, 2020s Supernova, and The Hunger Games trilogy.
While Tucci’s first love will always be cinema, he’s also a very astute and well-traveled foodie. Being an individual who is ‘Italian on both sides’, he’s particularly fond of the cuisine from the country that his family hailed from.
In 2021, Tucci began hosting the culinary travel series Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy. This six-part original series aired on CNN and followed the actor and filmmaker as he embarked on a mouth-watering food tour of Italy. The series was honored with two Primetime Emmy Award nods, and in 2022, it was renewed for a second season.
In this video, we’ll be taking a look at every restaurant seen on the first season of Tucci’s critically-acclaimed program.
Episode 1 – Naples and The Amalfi Coast
In this episode, Tucci sampled various pizza joints in Naples, Italy. His culinary journey also took him on side quests to visit a cheese factory and a San Marzano tomato farm. He later ventured out to the island of Ischia for a family meal before enjoying a delectable desert on the Amalfi Coast.
In Naples, Tucci went to Pizza Fritta de Fernanda, where he sampled the city’s famed friggitoria.
He then visited Antica Pizzeria Brandi with his guide Elisabetta Moro, where master pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito cooked up the world’s first Marghertia pizza in honor of Italy’s Queen Margherita. The restaurant opened in 1780, making it the oldest pizza joint in Naples.
Next up on Tucci’s pizza tour was Pizzeria La Notizia. This pizzeria, which is owned and operated by Italy’s premier pizzaiolo, Enzo Coccia, has two locations.
UNESCO recognized the art of Neapolitan Pizzaiolo in 2017 as being an ‘intangible cultural heritage’. To experience what really goes into a top-notch pizza, Enzo took Tucci on a tour of the Campanian countryside to gather the perfect ingredients to make an out-of-this-world pizza pie.
After visiting a mozzarella factory and tomato farm, Tucci learned about the Neapolitan tradition of paying forward a cup of coffee for someone in need at Caffe Sospeso.
Tucci next visited Chiku, where he tried a fusion of Neapolitan food mixed with flavors brought to Italy from immigrants.
On the island of Ischia, Tucci visited a restaurant called Il Focolare, which is famous for it’s rabbit dish, Coniglio all’ischitana.
On the Amalfi Coast, Tucci tried out a few dishes at a family-run seaside restaurant called Lo Scoglio. Here, his favorite dish was the spaghetti con le zucchine alla Nerano, a recipe that Tucci and his wife tried to recreate for years after their first visit.
Up next, Tucci tried some delicious pastries at Sal de Riso. Notably, he tried the decadent-sounding Delizia al Limone dessert, which is made from locally sourced Amalfi Lemons.
Episode 2 – Rome
In Rome, Tucci went to Bar San Calisto, one of the most famous bars in the city. He tried out a caffe and a maritozzo – a brioche-based dish with panna whipped cream.
He then traveled to Armando al Pantheon, a traditional trattoria next door to the Roman pantheon that has been open for half a century. Here, he tried the Rigatoni all’Amatriciana.
From there, he went to Trattoria Pommidoro, where he sunk his teeth into a scrumptious-looking plate of carbonara while learning about the various legends behind the recipe’s origin.
Tucci’s next stop was a deli called Pro Loco D.O.L. The deli is famous for it’s locally-sourced meat, cheeses, and other items from the Lazio region.
Tucci then enjoyed several plates, including oxtail meatballs, trippa alla romana, and a frittata with Chicken at Santo Paloto, a trendy eatery run by chef Sarah Cicolini.
From there, Tucci tried out some Jewish-Italian cuisine, including fried artichokes and carciofi alla giudia, at Le Reginella, which is located in an Italian Jewish Ghetto.
To wrap up the episode, Tucci visited Bistrot64, where chef Kotara Noda cooked him some cacio e pepe.
Episode 3 – Bologna
Tucci began his Bologna food journey at Caseificio Rosola. At this dairy, right outside of Modena, he and his guide, 3-Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura, sampled some fresh and aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Tucci’s next stop was the Casa Maria Luigia Hotel, where he enjoyed some wood-fired bread topped with ricotta cheese, honey, and balsamic.
After visiting a food market where he got in touch with a sardine seller named Mattia Santori, Tucci visited a traditional bologna deli called Salumeria Simoni.
In Modena, Tucci first visited the oldest balsamic vinegar producer in the nation, Acetaia Giusti. After that, he traveled to chef Nicola Salvatore’s Parma Salumeria, Salumeria Garibaldi, to taste authentic Prosciutto di Parma.
From there, he went to Frolimpopoli to visit a cooking school and restaurant called Casa Artusi where he learned the original recipe for the Italian classic dish tagliatelle bolognese.
To wrap up the episode, Tucci visited Osteria Lo e Simone in the seaside town of Rimini where he learned from legendary italian filmmaker Federico Fellini’s niece, Francesca, how to make cappelletti and strozzapreti.
He then capped the episode off with an aperitivi at the Grand Hotel Rimini.
Episode 4 – Milan
Milano Duomo was the first stop on Tucci’s Milan food adventure. Here he enjoyed a quick cup of espresso at an unnamed bar. He then enjoyed his first taste of Milanese cuisine at Ratana. This modern Italian restaurant is helmed by renowned chef Cesare Battisti. Tucci enjoyed a dish of Cotoletta alla Milanese while the chef recounted the origin story of the veal cutlet.
After enjoying a few drinks with social media star Tess Masazza in the Navigli District, Tucci hit up Mag Cafe for happy hour. He then went to password-protected bar, Tencitt, where he sipped on a martini made with saffron and a coal-based elixer.
From there, he went to Sumiragho, where he had dinner at the home of the Missoni family. After that, he went to the Orobic Alp’s to meet cheese maker Paolo Ciapparelli at the Bitto Center.
Tucci then learned how to properly clean and cook perch with the help of George Clooney at Lake Como. To finish up his tour of Milan, Tucci visited Osteria del Trenno, where he and his wife dined on veal shank with potatoes.
Episode 5 – Florence and Tuscany
The episode opened up with some beautiful views of Florence landmarks. After reflecting on his family’s history, Tucci went to the Sant’Ambrogio Market to meet up with Chef Fabio Picchi, who guided him through preparing several dishes throughout the episode. At the market, Tucci purchased a T-Bone steak that was “as thick as the length of a matchstick’.
Tucci and Picchi then visit C. Bio, Picchi’s deli. The two then tried out several dishes including raw steak with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Tucci then learned that throwing olive branches onto the fire gives cooked steak a unique flavor profile.
After pub crawling, Tucci tried out some Tuscan dessert wine at Osteria Belle Donne. To accompany his drink, he enjoyed an almond biscotti known as contucci. From there, Tucci headed on over to another market called Mercato Central, where he learned about beans and cucina povera.
To finish up his tour of Tuscany, Tucci went to the wheat threshing festival, Festa della Battitura, where he tried a plate of crostini d’ocio, which is toasted bread topped with a sauce made of a male goose.
In Florence, Tucci dined at chef Marco Maselli’s restaurant, Osteria Cinghiale Bianco. Here he tried dishes like pappa al pomodora, ribollita, and panzanella.
From there, he attended a black-tie event called the New Generation Festival, where he tasted a foam variant of the dish Panzanella.
After that, he went to an innovative restaurant called Nugolo. The young chefs at this eatery have the ambitious aim of re-imagining traditional Tuscany foods.
In Livorno, Tucci and Picchi went to a sandwich shop called Torteria da Gagarin, which is famous for its chickpea flour pancake.
At the end of the episode, Tucci and Picchi enjoy a meal with some friends up in the hills for a type of fish stew called Cacciucco.
Episode 6 – Sicily
After taking a voyage on a ferry boat specially designed to carry train cars while talking about eating a rice ball dish called arancino, Tucci went to a restaurant calle I Pupi Ristorante where he tried a few different items including spaghetti alla bottarga and an antipasto of fish and fragrant olive oil.
In Vittoria, a small city in southeastern Sicily, Tucci met up with a young, up-and-coming wine maker named Arianna Occhipinti at her vineyard. He then went to Palermo to sample a dish called Timballo at the 16th-century palace Palazzo Raffadali.
After landing on the tiny Sicilian island off Lampedusa, Tucci had dinner at the home of a couple named Beppe and Rina, who cooked him a stuffed poultry dish made with the common garden warbler.
Tucci then took a solemn visit to a place called the migrant boat graveyard, where he learned about the ongoing Mediterranean migrant crisis.
From there, he took a flight to Catania, where he learned about the unique soil composition of the region and how that relates to the food that is produced there. All of that digging in the dirt must have caused Tucci to work up an appetite because he then went to the Michelin-starred restaurant Me Cumpari Turiddu, where he met owner Roberta Capizzi.
We learned that the chef’s specialties include Pasta Alla Norm and donkey carpaccio.
Tucci then enjoyed another familial meal with couple Emanuele and Mimmo, who served him a meal of chicken and rice flavored with spices from Egypt and Nigeria.
That about wraps up our overview of the first season of Stanley Tucci’s Searching For Italy. Be on the lookout for our follow-up video which will cover the various restaurants that Tucci visited in season 2.
Before you move on to watching another one of our travel videos, take a moment to let us know in the comments which one of the dishes featured in season 1 of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy sounded the tastiest to you. And if you’ve been to Italy before, let us know what a few of your favorite restaurants in the country are.